Tennessee baseball trounces Charlotte to open NCAA Tournament, advances to face Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. − Griffin Merritt left his feet, the bat left his hands, and the ball almost left Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

It was picture-perfect postseason moment − as was Tennessee baseball's start to the NCAA Tournament.

The Vols rolled did it all well against Charlotte, clubbing homers and getting an ace outing from Andrew Lindsey in their opener in the Clemson Regional. No. 2-seeded Tennessee mashed the No. 3 seed 49ers 8-1 on Friday.

The Vols face No. 1 seed Clemson on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Tigers (44-17), the No. 4 national seed, have won 17 in a row after beating Lipscomb 12-5 in the opening game Friday.

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Andrew Lindsey dealt against his former team

Lindsey ran into first-inning problems against Charlotte (34-27), but got a bases-loaded strikeout to get out unscathed. He was on cruise control after that, setting down 12 straight between a one-out single in the second and a one-out single in the sixth.

Lindsey, who pitched at Charlotte in 2021 before sitting out 2022 and transferring to UT, had 10 strikeouts to match his career high. He allowed five hits in seven innings. Former Vols infielder Austin Knight hit a solo homer in the seventh.

Tennessee got major production in the from the heart of the order

Merritt battered a homer off the overhang above left field. He already had spiked his bat into the ground, jumping for joy at the huge home run before it caromed down into the stands. Tennessee led 8-0 thanks to the heart of the order, which provided the major offensive production such as Merritt's two-out blast.

Jared Dickey, Merritt, and Christian Moore had multi-hit games. Dickey was 3-for-5, while Merritt was 3-for-4. Moore went 2-for-3, matching Merritt with three RBIs. Dickey also had a two-out RBI single.

Christian Moore was the offensive tone-setter

Moore fell behind 0-2 in the third inning before smashing a homer to right-center. It was Moore's second two-strike extra-base hit, building on a first-inning double.

The Vols second baseman was a force offensively, setting the tone immediately with his two-out, two-run double in the first inning. He came back with a homer into the right-center field bleachers. It was his first homer since May 12 against Kentucky.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.